East Central Reporter

Rep. Reggie Phillips of District 110 has continued to throw his support behind the Fair Map Initiative as the battle rages on to have the issue placed on the Illinois ballot come November.

Phillips, who represents the Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Edgar and Lawrence counties, believes the Fair Map Initiative is vital to Illinois’ election process, especially to help end the political unbalance of the districts.

“In the state of Illinois, drawing the map is a key component to the election process,” Phillips recently told the East Central Reporter. “Democrats at that time will have the ability to create ‘safe districts’ (heavily Democrat) for their incumbents and create weak Republican districts to cause primaries and potential general election wins.”

Phillips noted that every 10 years the Illinois General Assembly, in conjunction with census data, is charged to redraw the districts -- both state and federal -- based on population and other variables. He has been a strong supporter of the Fair Map Initiative and bringing reform to the current process of drawing district maps in general.

According to the Independent Maps website, a nonpartisan statewide coalition which helped petition for the Independent Map Amendment to be placed on the November ballot, the group well exceeded the 290,216 signatures required for the petition. However, the coalition was dealt a legal disappointment when a Cook County court struck down the initiative late last month. An appeal is currently underway with the Illinois Supreme Court in the hopes that it can still make it on the November ballot.

“The Fair Map Initiative takes the pen out of the hands of the elected officials and into a process that creates fair and balanced districts truly based upon census data,” Phillips said.

The Fair Map Initiative is asking voters to change the process by which district maps are currently drawn -- creating a board with representatives -- and attempts to create a fair balance between Democrats and Republicans.

“Elected offices should not be using political power at the expense of constituents,” Phillips said. “We must pass a Fair Map Initiative for the good of the people of Illinois.”